Collaborative spaces for innovating interprofessional WIL in health contexts

Work integrated learning (WIL) or clinical placement is a vital and irreplaceable component in the preparation of pre-service allied health students for the reality of professional life. In contemporary healthcare contexts there is an increasing focus on enhancing health outcomes for patients and clients through provision of high quality interprofessional care. Consequently, interprofessional education has become a key pedagogical approach in the education of pre-service health care students. Despite this focus on inter-professional education approaches, many health services demonstrate significant resistance to offering undergraduate allied health inter-professional education experiences.

A qualitative study that explored allied health professionals’ understanding, confidence, capability and willingness to supervise and assess allied health students from professions other than their own will be reported. The perspectives on interprofessional supervision offered by the allied health professional participants, including identified barriers, facilitating factors and preferred approaches, will be discussed. Finally, an innovative inter-professional clinical placement supervisory model that enhances and enriches student learning and supervisor capability, particularly in relation to interprofessional practice will be introduced. The interprofessional supervisory model acknowledges and privileges context as core to work integrated learning and comprises six key features: collaboration, key priorities, reflective practice, focus on student learning journey, joint-interprofessional assessment and program champions.

Through the building of interprofessional supervision capability amongst allied health clinicians, opportunities for innovative and high-quality placement experiences for allied health students can be opened up, thus maximizing placement opportunities for students particularly in regional and remote areas and better prepare students for work in interprofessional healthcare contexts.